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Amid continuing backlash over a video that showed him abusing a dog on an elevator, Des Hague has resigned as CEO of the giant sports catering company Centerplate.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based company announced the appointment of a new CEO yesterday.

In a statement, the company’s board of directors didn’t say whether Hague’s resignation was requested — only that “the decision comes as a result of Hague’s “personal misconduct involving the mistreatment of an animal in his care.”

Since the video surfaced in August, dog lovers have been calling for Hague’s firing and threatening to boycott food offerings at stadiums serviced by Centerplate.

In Canada, protestors took to the streets to urge sports team to end their associations with Centerplate.

And a change.org petition asking Centerplate to fire Hague has accumulated close to 200,000 signatures.

Experts being quoted in the media are saying Hague’s fall shows the tremendous power of social media.

We like to think it shows the tremendous power of dog lovers, who happen to be using social media.

Centerplate provides food services to sports venues around the country, holding contracts with teams in the NFL, NBA, Major League Soccer, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball.

The video — which shows Hague kicking the dog and jerking her off the ground by her leash — was recorded in July by a surveillance camera in the elevator of a Vancouver apartment building. It was turned over to the BC SPCA, which seized the dog, a one-year-old Doberman named Sade.

Hague initially told investigators the dog was his. Later, in a public apology, he said the incident was “a minor frustration with a friend’s pet” and that he had apologized to the dog’s owner.”

The BC SPCA says it’s now clear the dog wasn’t Hague’s, and her owner is seeking to regain custody.

But as the backlash from animals built up it issued two more statements — one to announce that Hague had agreed to undergo anger management counseling, another to say he had been put on probation by the company, and had agreed to donate $100,000 to an animal charity and serve 1,000 hours of community service, according to Fortune.com.

In a statement announcing Hague’s resignation and the appointment of Chris Verros as CEO, the chairman of Centerplate’s board of directors said, “We want to reiterate that we do not condone nor would we ever overlook the abuse of animals. Following an extended review of the incident involving Mr. Hague, I’d like to apologize for the distress that this situation has caused to so many; but also thank our employees, clients and guests who expressed their feelings about this incident. Their voices helped us to frame our deliberations during this very unusual and unfortunate set of circumstances.”

The BC SPCA has recommended abuse charges, and the case is now before Crown Counsel.

Comments

Comment from Yanti KurniawanTime September 3, 2014 at 10:17 am

He needs to be punished severely, leave him in a room full of criminals who can show him some valuable jabs, upper cuts, kick boxing toward his body & chain him up with no food or drink. After that I can give a hand by castrating him in the most barbaric way!!!